On Sunday 22 September, roads around London Bridge, Tower Bridge and much of the City of London will be closed in an effort to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis.
Air pollution kills thousands of people every year and two million more live in areas where levels of air pollution are above the limit established by the World Health Organization. This is why the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has decided to hold the capital’s biggest World Car-Free celebrations to date.
“Air pollution has become a silent killer around the world,” says Khan, echoing the World Health Organization’s statement that air pollution represents a global public health emergency. “This is not merely rhetoric, but an inescapable reality—backed up by cold, hard facts—and one that demands urgent action from our political leaders.”
On Sunday, the Mayor will close 20 km of roads in London’s city centre, with 18 boroughs hosting local celebrations, and hundreds of activities scheduled to take place across closed streets. More than 150,000 Londoners are expected to join in an effort to bring communities together and create play streets for children and a positive vision of what a global city can look like in a healthier and more sustainable future.
According to the World Health Organization, seven million people die from air pollution every year, making it the greatest environmental threat to health today. Urban air pollution, in particular, is increasing by 8 percent every five years, and 95 percent of cities worldwide do not meet the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Global cities such as London are introducing strict regulations to limit the levels of air pollution in their urban areas. Earlier this year, Seoul, South Korea introduced new legislation that mandates every school classroom to have an air purifier, and Santiago, Chile took delivery of its first 100 e-buses in December 2018 as part of plans to electrify the public transport system. Khan took the opportunity of this year’s World Car-Free celebrations to announce the introduction of a new ultra-low emission zone—a world first—in the city centre. This means that vehicles driving into central London have to meet the toughest emission standards of any global city.
London, Seoul and Santiago are part of the UN Environment Programme’s Breathe Life network of cities working to beat air pollution in urban areas. The network consists of 63 cities, regions and countries covering a population of 271 million citizens that are committed to implementing the necessary regulations and creating conditions to support the development of state-of-the-art technology to tackle the air pollution crisis.
World Car-Free Day is an international event celebrated every 22 September and in which people are encouraged to use public or non-motorized transport to get around.
Original source: UN Environment
Published on 18 September 2019
